Ginetta race cars use Variohm pressure transducers

Ginetta Cars is a major player in British motorsport, designing and building cars for the race track and road car enthusiasts, as well as co-promoting a number of single-make race competitions across the UK and abroad. To maintain the company's consistently high performance standards, Ginetta has chosen Variohm EPT3100 pressure transducers to monitor oil, fuel and water pressures across all of its G50 series race cars.

The 300BHP G50 'Cup' race car, which was voted Autosport Magazine's Car of the Year 2008, is used for the single-make Michelin G50 Championship that starts again in April 2010. This competition is rated as one of the most affordable yet thrilling wheel-to-wheel autosport events held across major UK race circuits. With a modest upgrade, this car is eligible for British, European and World GT4 racing and took the British GT4 title in 2008 against the likes of Aston Martin, Nissan and Maserati. A newly introduced G50Z version features a 400BHP Zytek engine and is aimed at top-level GT sprint and 24-hour racing. The latest derivative, the G50HC (Hot Climate) is built for the vibrant Middle East race car market and is designed for track temperatures up to +60degC - which really puts the car and Variohm's pressure sensors through their paces.

Throughout the G50 series, engine control and data logging systems are used to ensure optimum performance, and Variohm's EPT3100 series pressure transducers are built for such challenging applications where high performance and exceptional reliability need to be balanced with lightweight design, compact dimensions and competitive cost.

Choice of measurement ranges

The EPT3100's thin-film measuring cell and high-level output circuit technology provides a pressure output from 0.25-4000bar in several range options, with accuracy better than +/-0.8 per cent and stability of better than +/-0.1 per cent. Output options include 0-5V, ratiometric and 4-20mA with up to 32V input.

For maximum durability, the EPT3100 boasts a 1000 'g' shock rating and 25 'g' peak vibration rating at 20-2000Hz. The IP66-rated sensor is housed in a ruggedised and hermetically welded 304 stainless steel casing, weighing only 60g and measuring just 22mm diameter by 54mm long. A choice of miniature or standard DIN 43650 connectors, or flying leads, makes installation and field replacement straightforward. To meet the demands of the gruelling conditions for all types of autosport - and the most challenging industrial applications - the EPT3100 has a two-times over-range pressure rating and burst pressure capability to five times, with a rated life of more than 10million pressure cycles.

The EPT3100 is a part of an extensive range of specialist sensors and transducers that Variohm-EuroSensor supplies across the autosports industry, including Formula 1, A1GP, WTCC, GP2, Champ, Nascar, ALMS, Superbike and many others. The complete range includes pressure and temperature sensora for fuel, oil, coolant and brakes, as well as force, torque and position measurement sensors for suspension travel, throttle and gearbox. Laser and infrared technologies are also supplied for ride height and tyre condition monitoring.